Memorychip designer AP Memory Technology Corp (愛普科技) yesterday said it plans to buy the remaining 44.76 percent shares of Zentel Electronics Corp (力積電子) it does not hold for NT$441 million (US$14.38 million).
The offer of NT$14.5 per share is a 3.2 percent premium to Zentel’s closing price of NT$14.05 on Wednesday.
Shares of Zentel and AP Memory were suspended from trading yesterday.
AP Memory spokeswoman Claire Lin (林郁昕) told a news conference that the deal is expected to help integrate the two companies’ research and development resources, as well as develop memorychip solutions.
The Hsinchu-based chip designer plans to close the deal on Oct. 1, making Zentel a wholly owned subsidiary and delisting it from the Taipei Exchange, Lin said.
The merger will not result in any job cuts, Lin said.
The companies have a total of 120 employees in Taiwan, she said.
AP Memory hopes the acquisition will help accelerate its reach to the Internet of Things market. The deal is subject to the approval of shareholders, who are scheduled to meet on June 19.
AP Memory yesterday posted net profit of NT$405 million for last year, a decline of 13 percent from NT$466 million in 2015, with earnings per share falling from NT$7.58 to NT$6.07 over the same period.
AP Memory attributed the decline to a non-operating loss of NT$18.87 million due to foreign-exchange losses in the third quarter of last year.
Revenue last year rose 21.54 percent to NT$3.16 billion from NT$2.6 billion in 2015.
The company said that chip prices are expected to rise by a double-digit percentage this quarter from last quarter amid strong demand, but added that capacity constraints could affect shipments.
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